Wart on fingers

Warts on the fingers are known as Periungal Warts. These are elevated, rough, irregular and found around the fingernails. They cause a lot of pain when they become invasive. People can get infected with finger warts through direct contact or by touching or handling objects that have been handled by an infected person.

Like any other wart, finger warts too are caused by the human papillomavirus. These can get transmitted through contact with an object handled by an infected person.

Children and young adults are prime candidates for finger warts. This is because the immune system is not fully developed in this group. Certain finger warts are known as seed warts due to the black dot that appears on the top. This black dot is actually the capillary vessel that carries the blood to the wart. The virus that causes finger warts enters the skin through scratches, openings or cuts.

Picking hangnails and biting the fingernails are the two most common ways through which this infection spreads. Therefore you must fight the urge to bite your nails. Finger warts often make the finger look deformed, especially in children. Picking at warts leads to bleeding and inflammation. As of now, there are no treatments to eradicate or cure warts. They can only be removed. If a person gets infected once with this virus, it will be with them for life. Health care providers usually recommend the removal of finger warts before they spread. This can be done through cryotherapy or salicylic acid.

In cryotherapy, a small dose of liquid nitrogen is injected into the wart. This freezes up the infected area and destroys the wart. However, freezing might not work if the liquid nitrogen does not penetrate deep inside. Care should also be taken to see that the infected cells do not contaminate the surrounding healthy skin.

Salicylic acid may be applied to warts in an effort to destroy them. This treatment is given over a course of days and includes many sittings with the doctor.

Laser surgery is a quick, efficient and clean way to achieve complete destruction of warts on the finger.

Home remedies are also quite effective apart from being low cost. Apple cider vinegar when applied to the wart is quite beneficial in removing it. Aspirin dissolved in water, a mixture of baking soda with water and iodine can also be applied regularly on the finger wart for fast removal. Ripe banana peels, juice of lemon, lime or cauliflower, green papaya have their own merits in treating finger warts. Crushed stem of dandelions, cashew nuts, garlic, grapefruit, raw onion are helpful too. The contents of Vitamin E capsules and the milk obtained from the stem of leaves and figs, oregano oil, castor oil too have their benefits.

Thuja, a natural anti fungal ointment when applied daily to the affected area helps in removal of finger warts.

However, you must remember that home remedies take a bit of time before they start to become effective. Hence you cannot afford to run out of patience. Home remedies do bring rewards in a couple of weeks.